Bonds
by TheRamblingDabbler
Summary: Merlin has been captured by a sorceress, one who knows Arthur too. Who knows what she as in store for them, especially since she knows all about their 'bond'. A little slash latter on, not too bad though. a work in progress.Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so here's the deal. I got hooked on Merlin. I've been watching it so much now that I just had to write a fic for it. A Merthur one of course. SO, it took me a bit and a lot of time on the Wiki getting the spells spelled right, but I got the first part ready to go. Something I usually forget to do on most of my stories- DISCLAIMER- I don't own any of the characters in Merlin, and this story line is completely fictional from the actual course of events in the actual show. I tried to keep spoilers out, but if there are any please let me know. There is an extra character in here that you might not recognize, well that's because she is an OC of mine. Thought I'd have a little fun with this. Enjoy! **

**Chapter 1**

"ARTHUR!" The name flew from the young warlock's lips, a loud plea for help. Arthur's head snapped around to look for the source of the shout. His heart was suddenly in his throat and he raced to the open window of his chamber. Sure enough, Merlin stood in the courtyard below the castle. Arthur's blood boiled and mixed with adrenaline when he saw the beautiful sorceress who stood behind Merlin, her hand holding him by the nape of his neck.

"Merlin." The name slipped through the young warrior prince's lips, unbidden. Merlin's eyes grew heavy with sadness. His heart sank as Arthur raced to the window. He was sure there was no stopping Arthur now, it was too late, he had seen Merlin in danger. Merlin felt the disgust and frustration with himself for dragging Arthur into this rise in him.

"Arthur, how nice to see you again." The sorceress said almost smugly. She tightened her grip on Merlin's neck, causing Merlin to shift his weight trying to get away from her. Arthur grabbed the sill of the window as he leaned out to better talk to her.

"Please do not even begin the pretense; you are not happy to see me at all. You wish me dead." The Prince spoke confidently and had an air of reserved concern about him. Merlin frowned, Arthur knew this woman? A sorceress and Arthur knew her? How?

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that my young lord." At her words Arthur rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh of impatience. "I do not want to hurt you this time, but your servant will serve my purposes well. If you don't want to have to hire a new one, you'll have to come and fetch him." She spoke simply, and smiled a cold smile. Arthur stood up a little straighter, never one to back down from a challenge, and looked at her as if daring her to run as fast as she could because she couldn't hide from him. Merlin steeled himself knowing that when they ran it would be his only chance to escape from her.

But she didn't run. Not yet. First she made sure that Arthur was watching and then she turned her attention to Merlin. With a wave of her pristine hand over Merlin's face and a few short incantation which Arthur couldn't catch, Merlin collapsed. He collapsed onto the cold cobblestones of the courtyard, unable to move a muscle, but still conscious. He heard Arthur say his name in shock and he heard Arthur shouting commands to his men, but from his current position on the ground, he could not see much besides feet of the men and the feet of the sorceress.

Merlin felt the panic rising up in him. He needed to get away from her, to break this spell whatever it was. But he couldn't, not with Arthur and his men staring at them. And that's what she wants, he realized with a jolt. She knew exactly who he was and his purpose, and she wanted Merlin to show Arthur it. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. And so he lay on the cold ground, waiting for her to make her move, highly uncomfortable but unable to remedy his situation.

Finally, she got that Merlin was not going to do something, and with only a distance of about three feet between them and the guard, she picked Merlin off the ground with one hand. Her other had was busy making motions and her mouth was speaking words that none but her and Merlin understood.

_**Bedyrene us! Astyre us thanonweard .**_

Merlin was hit with the realization that she was transporting them, fast too. Merlin's head got flung back as she moved her arm about in the process of casting the spell. Suddenly he had a clear view of Arthur's chambers. And he could see that Arthur was trying to get out the door to come and help his men but his father stood in his way. He could dimly hear the yelling echoing out the window and he knew deep down that Uther would not let him come, and for that he was glad. With one last flourish of her hand, the spell was complete and just as a hand closed around one of his wrists, the sorcerers exploded into dust and were gone in a matter of seconds.

**Hope you liked it, it was the first Merlin fic I'd ever wrote, so I don't know if the quality is that good… Reviews are appreciated, but you don't have to. I won't keep chapters from you all if you don't review or something stupid like that. No worries there. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, well. Here we are again. If you decided to actually keep an eye on my little drabbles here, good luck with that. Thanks to everyone who favorited the chapter before. First time writing a Merlin fic, I think I did okay. I might come back and revise later if I feel like it and have time. In the meantime, Enjoy.**

**Chapter 2**

Arthur heard the commotion of the guards and turned to the window to see an empty courtyard. His stomach dropped and his mind reeled. Uther stepped in front of him, blocking his view and spoke firmly.

"Son, you are my only heir. Camelot will need a king one day, and I want you to be around to take my place. You will not pursue this woman and your servant, and neither will the knights. I will not hear another word of it from you. Stay here." Uther finished, but looked at his rebellious son with caution. He tacked on his next words like an afterthought. "You will not leave this castle tonight, is that understood?"

"Yes, Father." Arthur barely managed to get the words out, angry with him. As soon as the door to his chamber's slammed shut and he heard the lock slide into place, he began to pace. He could not sit still. He was highly upset that once again, when his life was threatened, his father took his precautions to unnecessary levels. He didn't need to be locked in his own room; He needed to go after Merlin.

He was saved by Merlin more times than he could count and yet when it came to Merlin's life, Uther thought that Merlin was expendable, replaceable, and worst of all, worthless. Thinking about these things only served to make him angrier, because in his eyes his father's actions made no sense. His thoughts were interrupted by a small knock at the door.

"Enter." Arthur said, wishing with all his being that he could exit this room, but he was sure that there were guards outside. He looked up to see Gaius step into his chamber, holding the door ajar. "Gaius, what are you doing here?" Arthur sat up as he spoke, daring to hope that Gaius was there to help him. He was not disappointed.

"Hush, we must move quickly, if you are to leave your chambers tonight. I've told your father that I would give you medicine to help you sleep. But I want to see Merlin return safely as much as you do and so I gave the medicine to your father instead, He didn't even notice and now he's sleeping like a rock." Gaius smiled and then continued. "The guards outside have been taken care of and there is a saddled horse waiting in the stables. There are provisions for two days in the bag, and I think that you need to go to the forest beyond the White Mountain to find Merlin and his captor, just a day's ride from Camelot. Good luck."

"Thank you Gaius, I won't forget this." Arthur said over his shoulder as she jogged down the corridor towards the stables. He darted from dark corner to dark corner, avoiding any and all contact with the guards and servants. At the last corner before the stables, Arthur paused for a minute and listened to two guards make their rounds. He did not like deceiving his own men but in order to save Merlin, he would.

When the guards were far enough away, he snuck into the stables and climbed onto the horse that was prepared for him. He realized with pleasure that it was one of the fastest horses that the royal family owned. He silently promised Gaius, in his head, that this kindness would be repaid in full. He took one very deep breath and spurred his horse to leap forwards and race from the palace. His body was pulsating with adrenaline as he galloped through his kingdom, outracing all the palace guards and leaving Camelot behind him in a matter of minutes.

***cue Beethoven's fifth* haha. Just saying, it would fit. I hope you liked it, please review. I enjoy knowing that I am not the only one who likes my writing. Till the next chapter, my faithful readers!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, first off let me just say, I'm so sorry! I took a huge break from actually doing things. Yeah, so whoops on my part. I know some people have been asking for the next part so I figured that I should really get on top of that for y'all. Anywho, enjoy! I tried to make it as accurate as possible. I used the Merlin Wiki for the spells and the spelling of the spells… Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

Merlin's eyes stayed open through the entire transport, and he wished with all his might that he could close his eyes. The extremely bright lights and the swirling fog were not doing his already queasy stomach any favors. Suddenly the fog dissipated and the lights faded away and they were standing in the middle of a bandit camp surrounded by woods. Merlin blinked and found he could move, but was incredibly weak. When the sorceress unexpectedly let go of his arm, he fell to his knees and tipped over onto the pine needles covering the forest floor. He felt as if he couldn't see anything, until he realized that there was no sun shining in his eyes anymore, it had become evening and the sun was going down.

He thought that was odd because just a minute ago when they were in the castle courtyard, it was morning, Arthur wasn't even dressed for the day yet. He blinked a few more times, trying to make his eyes adjust faster. His head throbbed a little and he felt woozy as he stood up, trying to get his bearings. That was about the time that he noticed all of the bandits crawling out of their tents, murderous glee dancing in their eyes. There had to be only six or seven of them but in his weakened state of mind, it felt like twenty. Doing a quick sweep with his eyes to check that they were all enemies, He called forth his magic.

His eyes glowed a brilliant gold, and he didn't even have to speak. The world knew his will and his magic made it a reality. The trees moved, seemingly of their own accord, and advanced towards the men. They all looked up at the trees with fear in their eyes, some of them dropping their weapons, others wielding them more tightly. Merlin directed the trees with a sweep of his hand, and promptly sat down on a stump to watch his handiwork. The trees began to beat on the men, slowly but surely knocking them out one by one.

He turned to look at the sorceress once his work was done. She was standing to the side, watching appreciatively. She had a knowing smile on her face and she knew that Merlin knew why.

"Why?" Merlin asked regardless. The trees finished their task, arranging all the bandits around one of their stumps and stretching their roots over them.

"Because, he needs to know." She replied simply. She began to walk forwards slowly as she spoke.

"No, he can't know. Not yet. Not while Uther is still king. He still doesn't trust me enough for that, to know the truth. How do you even know?" Merlin replied testily

"I know because I am also of the Olde Religion, and I can feel things happening too. You do not give me enough credit." Merlin's eyes darkened at her words, the last priestess of the Olde Religion he had met had been Nimueh. He swallowed and changed the subject.

"You know that Arthur will find a way to get out of the castle, and he will find us here. What do you plan to do?" Merlin asked, genuinely curious.

"That is for me to know and you to find out." She said. "Now, Merlin, I'll bet you're tired. Sleep. It will do you no good to be tired when Arthur comes to _save_ you."

"Why would I sleep, around you? I don't trust you one bit. I think I'll stay awake." Merlin rolled his eyes and moved to sit next to a fire pit that had no fire in it anymore.

"_**Baerne**_." He whispered into the half burned sticks that occupied the fire pit. A flame was born instantly and soon grew to a roaring fire, contained only by the limits of the stones surrounding it.

He sat staring into the flames. This was a first, Merlin had been kidnapped by a sorceress who apparently knew Arthur. They'd met before, it was obvious. Merlin was being used as bait for Arthur to leave Camelot on his own, he knew that even Uther could not keep Arthur contained if it was a question of Merlin's life. It made him smile a little to know that the young Prince would even bother to come out and get him. His thoughts returned to Arthur's knowledge of this sorceress. It was as he sat there, thinking of what to do about this sorceress, that he realized he didn't know her name.

"What's your name? You never said." Merlin turned and asked, but she wasn't where she was a second ago. His eyes narrowed as he raked his gaze over the clearing. She wasn't anywhere, she was gone. He stood up and looked around for a bit and then smiled to himself. She was gone, no worries.

His smile quickly faded when he realized what that meant. She was probably trying to meet Arthur farther up the path towards Camelot, trying to tell him about Merlin. And she would have no problem once Arthur saw the evidence that Merlin so willingly provided. The men held down by giant roots would be more than enough to convince anyone, let alone Arthur. _Way to go stupid,_ Merlin thought to himself as he put out the fire with his magic.

He made up his mind quickly and decided to follow the sorceress to see what she would do. It didn't take very long to catch up with her. She noticed him immediately and turned to face him, a look of amusement on her face.

"It took you a bit to realize I was gone, didn't it?" She laughed.

"Shut up. What's your name? Because I never heard you tell me before you abducted me."

"Caria." She spoke softly and Merlin could hardly hear her over the birds which were suddenly over exuberant. Her name was pretty, Merlin couldn't help thinking. He wondered what her story was.

"Caria, why do you want Arthur to know? It's too soon, he isn't king yet. When he is king, magic will return to the kingdom and he will know, but no earlier than that." Merlin leaned up against a tree, trying to assuage the feeling of dread that plagued him about her.

"Because he needs to know, and I will take any measure to be sure he knows before he can return to Camelot." Caria leaned into their conversation, her voice barely above a whisper. Merlin watched as her eyes leapt with the cruel gleam of one who enjoys being in control of a situation. She was suddenly bent in two in a coughing fit that racked her body, and Merlin could've swore that he had heard her say something in her cough. By the time she had straightened up to where he could see her face, the gold had already faded from her eyes.

"I'm not going to let you do that." Merlin stood taller and he was prepared for retaliation.

"Oh really? And how are you going to stop me when you can't even go anywhere?" Her eyes flicked down to Merlin's legs and back up to his face again. Merlin's gaze followed hers, and his stomach dropped when he saw what she had seen. Vines snaked up his legs, forcibly pulling them together, and then reaching higher for his arms and torso.

"You can't do this." Merlin said lamely, struggling to keep his arms free of the vines.

"It looks like I just did. _**Gehaeftan.**_" The vines came faster, stronger, and secured Merlin's arms behind his back and a single thick vine reached up to cover his mouth and wrap around his head, effectively gagging him. Merlin was outraged that he let this happen to himself, not to mention humiliated.

He struggled fruitlessly for a few minutes, and looked at Caria, summoning his magic to try and use his surroundings to get the better of her. She saw the glimmer of gold starting in the warlock's eyes and slightly panicked, cast one more spell.

"_**Swefe Nu!**_" Merlin fell unconscious immediately and Caria smiled at her handiwork. The young servant lay bound on the ground of an unfamiliar forest, with a dangerous sorceress. Caria's eyes glowed gold once more and Merlin began to float about a foot off the ground behind her as she marched back to the bandit camp.

**Hehehe, Oops. I forgot that I did that at the end of this chapter. Anyways, since I have the next chapter of this already written as well, I'll try to get it up right away. Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, I really have no excuse. **


	4. Chapter 4

**God, I'm a horrible writer. I leave my stories for the longest time and then I just pop back in on them when my readers have given up all hope. I can't believe I forgot about this story… Sorry guys! I have no excuse. Anyways, I have had this part written for quite some time so here you go. Sorry it's a bit short but I have another chapter ready as well today so I'll be getting that up there too. **

For what felt like the thousandth time that morning, Arthur's thoughts returned to the sorceress. How could she be back? He had sent her away with a slap on the wrist for the crimes she committed in Camelot, against his father's orders. His father never knew it was Arthur that helped her get away. But that hardly mattered now in the light of recent events. Arthur had known her for quite some time and she was a servant at the castle when Uther caught her using magic to clean Arthur's chambers extra fast. He had her locked up and she was to be burned in two days' time. Arthur had known her for so long though that he had to see if she really was a sorceress. He snuck into the dungeons and found her, chained to a wall in the back of her cell.

He had pleaded her to tell him the truth, to say that she was lying. He didn't want to lose her, the trusted friend that she was. She couldn't say it though, because she really was a sorceress and she had been all along. Arthur felt there was only one real way to deal with her, to not have the guilt of her murder on his head. He helped her escape Camelot. He never expected to see her again, but she had come back, and he ran into her in the woods a few years back.

When they had seen each other, they were shocked. They had both changed so much. She had turned into an extremely beautiful woman with hatred in her heart. And he had turned from an impulsive fool, into a young prince who knew how to choose his words and tread lightly on his father's feet, fearing his father would hate who he really was, with all his impulses and emotion.

They stood apart from each other for a long time, Arthur remembered. He had been separated from his hunting party in the heat of the chase and they hadn't found him yet. He had panicked, knowing that Sir Leon would remember her for who she was. He wished that he was wrong about that. Unfortunately, Sir Leon did recognize her as soon as he laid eyes on her and Arthur was forced to do what his knights expected of him. He ordered them to arrest her, and she fought them.

She had used her magic to fight off the knights, and after every single one of them had fallen unconscious, she turned her attention finally to Arthur. She left him with a single chilling statement that haunted him for years to come. _You have betrayed the friendship that we once shared, and I will make you feel what that feels like; to be betrayed by one you would gladly lay your life down for._

Then she disappeared. When his men came to, Arthur said that she had knocked them all out and ran off. Uther had the kingdom on high alert for a week afterwards, but she was never found.

A rustle in the undergrowth near the road, brought his attentions back to where he was. A squirrel shot out from under the bush and darted across the road. Arthur sighed and spurred his horse onwards to greater speeds. He needed to stop thinking about the past and more about how he was going to get Merlin back, because he was pretty sure that he couldn't just demand his manservant back. She would never give Merlin to him.

Arthur wondered what his knights were doing now, he normally headed the practice sessions. He wondered what would life be like back in Camelot without Merlin there. There was a strange aching in his chest as he thought about it, and he realized that it would be a lonely place. He tried to change the topic of his thoughts and rode onwards.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, just thought I'd post two chapters while I'm at it. I've overloaded myself with projects today, but I'm surprisingly getting them all done! I rewrote this part like twenty times trying to get everything right. Ugh. Well, at least I'm satisfied with the results. **

Merlin groaned as he regained his consciousness, noting to himself that he seemed to be rather sore. Caria's face came into focus across the clearing, and Merlin jerked up in sudden awareness. His face contorted with pain and he realized that he was hanging by his hands, pulling his arms up far more than was comfortable. He didn't have the strength to stand up on his own, so he continued to hang there. God he hoped Arthur didn't arrive until he could get away from her. How humiliating to be pulled up like this; helpless.

Well, not completely helpless. He still had his magic, but he was too tired to use it quite yet. He wouldn't last through a fight against Caria using magic. He tried to focus on Caria, and now she was up, on her feet. She was walking toward him and he had only a few seconds to compose himself.

"So, the great warlock, Emrys, has been captured. Really, you weren't much of a challenge. A disappointment actually." She lifted his chin with a finger and Merlin stared into her eyes, daring her to try anything against him again. He was dangerously close to using his magic to throw her across the clearing. She smiled as if knowing this and turned back to the fire, leaving him to his thoughts.

Did she think that these vines would hold him back? They wouldn't, and then he would show her a thing or two. No, he shouldn't fight her yet. He wants to know why she has this vengeance against Arthur. He should try to get her to talk, and if she thinks that she has him under her complete control, she might.

"How long would you wait for Arthur to arrive? If he didn't come right away." Merlin rasped through his dry throat.

"Are you thirsty?" She spoke towards the fire, obviously avoiding the question entirely.

"No, I'm just curious, how long?"

"…However long it took." She eventually answered and then fell silent once more.

"Why? What could be so important that you would wait that long?" Merlin's voice was just above a whisper.

"Revenge. Arthur betrayed my friendship with him when he found out I was a sorceress. He never felt any guilt either, and now I want him to feel that betrayal. If I can't be the magic at his side then I will tear away the one that is there." Merlin briefly wondered how she would achieve that.

"Arthur is surprisingly blind to my magic. I doubt that you'll get me to use magic in front of him."

"I won't need to." She stood suddenly and made her way back to Merlin. Merlin stood shakily, his eyes never leaving her. "I'm so sorry that this is necessary, but it is all Arthur's fault. I have no life anymore because of him. I will make sure that he is unable to continue as he was, not after knowing your secret." Merlin opens his mouth to protest, but he never gets the chance.

He sees her eyes glow gold and then his consciousness fades away, and he slips into dark oblivion. Caria sighs quietly and a ghost of sadness passes over her face until she composes herself. Her eyes glow gold once more and she whispers a few words. Three words reach Merlin in his inky black oblivion, _I'm so sorry._


End file.
